Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Oct/Nov 2017 Aspire Mag Full Issue: Feminine Wisdo | Page 66
a round of out-loud sharing. This is how
we learned that a neighbor got a long-
desired job promotion, that another had
been fired, that kids won their sports
leagues (and where their games were
so others could attend) or were having
trouble with their homework (more than
one adult has volunteered to tutor), and,
sadly, that someone had been diagnosed
with aggressive breast cancer (prompting
a call to arms among the neighbors to
drive her son to school or summer camp,
among other assistance). There’s nothing
like knowing the people within walking
distance who can take in a package and
lend you eggs, or pick up and feed your
kid in a pinch. And who make everyone
in your family feel like they are home as
soon as they enter the neighborhood.
(When my car was in the shop, one
neighbor even lent me hers for the week
to shuttle my kids!)
ATHER REGULARLY WITH
G
LIKE-MINDED NEW FRIENDS.
Make a list of other young families you
particularly like or with whom you share
common interests and invite them over.
I did this years ago with families from my
alternative Jewish congregation, and it
was from this group that a lively spiritual
parenting discussion group evolved.
(The adults talked while the kids played
in the other room.) Worried you don’t
have enough space in your home? Take
it outside, as I did with a different group
of families that assembled for “family
soccer” at a local park. Or as I also did
when my kids were older and several
families met every full moon for a sunset
potluck at the beach.
66
L OOK INTO COHOUSING.
Cohousing is a unique housing concept
that combines private and communal
living. A typical community has families
owning their homes, either apartment-
style or tightly spaced houses or
townhouses, while sharing a “common
houseResidents hold group dinners,
movie nights, football-game watching,
and other events in the common house,
and they play group games and sports
in the shared yard. Unfortunately, with
only a few dozen cohousing communities
currently built in this country (Denmark
has hundreds), your chances of finding
one near you are small, although the
number is growing. My family participated
in a group trying to get one developed in
South Florida, but we ran into problems—
the housing crash of 2008 didn’t help—
and it never happened. (It was through
this effort that I learned the value of
reaching out to my neighbors no matter
where I lived.) Find a list of built or forming
communities in each state at the website
Cohousing.org.
Excerpt from Enlightened Parenting: A Mom
Reflects on Living Spiritually With Kids by
Meryl Davids Landau
Read
Online!
Meryl Davids Landau - Meryl Davids Landau is the author of the
book Enlightened Parenting: A Mom Reflects on Living Spiritually
With Kids, named a finalist in the Indie Excellence Awards. She also
wrote the spiritual women’s novel Downward Dog, Upward Fog, a
fiction book of the year finalist in the Foreword Reviews Awards. Her
work has appeared in numerous publications, including Parents,
O: The Oprah Magazine, Glamour, Self, Redbook, Reader’s Digest,
Prevention, Huffington Post, Vice and more. Meryl is a certified yoga
teacher and Reiki practitioner, and is the mom to two kids, now
young adults. Learn more at www.MerylDavidsLandau.com.
www.AspireMAG.net | October / November 2017